As a candidate for the
presidency of the United States, the highest office in
this land, you should be willing to explain your beliefs
and the faith that will ultimately guide your leadership
in the destiny of 300+ million Americans.

I proudly proclaim myself to
be a Christian and use Biblical teachings as a
guide in my daily life. You also seem to be a spiritual
person but I would like to determine where our spiritual
directions differ.

The truthful claims of
Christianity are easy to establish through the divinely
inspired words of the Holy Bible. Your church, the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, currently claims to
be a Christian institution. It has not always made that
claim. LDS teachings have long proclaimed the Church to
be separate and distinct from the Christian faith. And,
indeed, there are some striking differences between
traditional Christianity and LDS teachings, some of which
I would like to examine with you. I am also providing what LDS church
fathers have said about the traditional Christian church in a separate article.

The history and
teachings of the LDS church are very well documented.
Therefore, as an adherent and a member of the LDS church
and its beliefs, the basis of the decisions you might
make as president of the United States might necessarily
be influenced by your religious beliefs.

With that in mind, I
have ten questions I respectfully pose to
you. Based upon your desire to become the next President
of the United States of America, you have announced to
the American public that your spiritual beliefs will
guide you in making decisions critical to our nation.
Therefore, the American voter has a right to investigate
that spiritual guidance and compare it with the Biblical
teachings which the majority of our citizens espouse.

1.
Some folks have questioned your belief in the
legitimacy of polygamous marriage. Since 1890, the
LDS church has disavowed the practice of polygamy.
However, Article 132 of the Mormon Doctrine and
Covenants has never been repealed or amended by
the church. This "divine revelation"
proclaims polygamous marriage to be an "everlasting
covenant." The meaning seems quite clear
and is not ambiguous. Do you disavow the
current teaching of Doctrines
and Covenents, Article 132 and
the related revelations of LDS Prophets or do you
believe that the word "everlasting" no
longer means "forever?"

2. Joseph
Smith stated that God told him: "...they [other
churches] were all wrong; and the Personage who
addressed me said that their creeds were an
abomination in his sight; that those professors were
all corrupt" [Pearl of Great Price,
Joseph Smith-History 1:19). Joseph Smith
further wrote "What
is it that inspires professors of Christianity
generally with a hope of salvation? It is that
smooth, sophisticated influence of the devil, by
which he deceives the whole world" (Teachings
of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.270). Do
you believe, as did Joseph Smith, that my Christian
beliefs are "corrupt," "wrong," a
product of the devil and an abomination in the sight
of God?

3.
I agree that you and I both believe in a particular Jesus
Christ. You have stated as much in your campaign
messages. However, I can not reconcile my Jesus
Christ with the Mormon Jesus Christ, designated in
the name of your church. According to the
introduction of the Book of Mormon, the LDS
Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith, alongside God,
indicating that they were separate and distinct
personalities. [Book of Mormon, Introduction,
Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith]. This
belief seriously contradicts with Biblical
Christianity and separates the LDS church from all
Christian churches. Do you believe
that Jesus Christ was a created being and that this
teaching is inspired revelation as claimed by the
founder of the LDS church?

4. A
highly influential leader of the LDS church once
stated, that "If it had not been for Joseph
Smith and the restoration, there would be no
salvation. There is no salvation outside The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"
(Bruce McConkie: Mormon Doctrine, p.670).
This statement very clearly proclaims that eternal
life is not available for those outside the LDS
church. Do you subscribe to that claim and do
you believe that I, and my fellow Christians, have no
chance of entering heaven, outside of LDS membership?

5. Brigham
Young, LDS prophet, when questioned about life in the
cosmos, stated: "So it is with regard to the
inhabitants of the sun. Do you think it is inhabited?
I rather think it is. Do you think there is any life
there? No question of it; it was not made in vain. It
was made to give light to those who dwell upon it,
and to other planets; and so will this earth when it
is celestialized." As a prophet (and according
to LDS teachings), "no man can reject that
testimony without incurring the most dreadful
consequences for he cannot enter the kingdom of
God" (Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1,
p.190). Do you believe in the
infallible nature of this LDS
"prophet, seer and revelator" and that his
revelations and declarations were inspired by God?

6.
George Q. Cannon, President of the LDS church,
prophet, seer and revelator , taught that "...If
we get our salvation, we shall have to pass by him
[Joseph Smith]; if we enter our glory, it will be
through the authority he has received. We cannot get
around him [Joseph Smith]?" [quoted in 1988
edition of Melchizedek Priesthood Study Guide,
p. 142, by President Cannon]. As a member,
former bishop and current holder of the priesthood in
the LDS church, do you believe that Joseph Smith holds the keys to
salvation, according to Biblical teachings?

7.
The Doctrines and Covenants, in its
introduction, claims to be a "collection of
divine revelations..." One revelation states
that the LDS church is "... the only true and
living church upon the face of the whole earth, with
which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the
church collectively and not individually --"
(D&C 1:30; Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson,
p.164-165) [former Sec. of Agriculture and President
[Prophet] of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints].Is it your opinion that the LDS
church is the ONLY true church and that Joseph
Smith's "divine revelation" was an
expression of what God had communicated to him?

8.
Expanding on that premise, Orson Pratt, LDS Apostle,
wrote "Both Catholics and Protestants are
nothing less than the 'whore of Babylon' whom the
Lord denounces by the mouth of John the Revelator as
having corrupted all the earth by their fornications
and wickedness. Any person who shall be so corrupt as
to receive a holy ordinance of the Gospel from the
ministers of any of these apostate churches will be
sent down to hell with them, unless they repent"
(The Seer, p. 255). As a candidate
for the office of president of the United States of
America, do you believe that the "Protestants and Catholics" in
America represent the "Whore of Babylon?"

9.
Joseph Smith claimed The Book of Mormon to
be "the most correct book on the whole earth,
and man can get closer to God by it over any other
book." (Book of Mormon, Introduction; Gospel
Principles p. 53; History of the Church,
Volume 4, p.461). The foundational teachings of the Book
of Mormon claim that a mass migration brought a
tribe of Jews to America, ca. 600 B.C. Every attempt
has been made to verify this claim through DNA,
explorations and historical studies. There is
absolutely no proof of the existence of any Jewish
peoples populating the Western hemisphere or any
discoveries relating to their culture as stated by
the "most correct book." Do you
believe these claims of the Book
of Mormon,
"the most correct book on the whole earth," to be 100% true?

10. Mormon
teaching claims that: "god" was born as a baby on
another world and lives on a planet (or star) nearest the planet "Kolob." He grew up, was baptized by one
holding the proper authority, was married in the
temple for time and all eternity [probably to more
than one wife], had many children, was obedient to
all of the laws and ordinances of the gospel and
eventually died. Because of his obedience and
faithfulness and by the "Law of Eternal
Progression" he was "Exalted" and
became god, through the same process that faithful LDS members. If you know anything about Mormon
doctrine you know that this is the god of Mormonism.
His name is Eloheim (or Ahman) and he lives on a planet He is a
glorified, resurrected, exalted man having a tangible
body of flesh and bones." [Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon
Doctrine, pg. 250]. Mr. Romney, do you
believe these claims and are you able to reconcile
them with Biblical Christianity and do you believe that you may one
day progress to godhood?

There are
many more questions I would like to discuss with you and
others within your church. My purpose in writing this
letter is to make an honest distinction between Biblical
Christianity and the claims of those who profess to be
Christians. I have no intention to demean you or your
fellow Mormons for being outside the Biblical confines of
Christianity. Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and others have
never made any claim to being Christian. Regardless, my
beliefs and those of the United States Constitution fully
support the rights of non-Christians to practice their
faith. The LDS church should enjoy no less protection
than that offered by the Constitution, regardless of
their beliefs. But to claim to belong to a Christian
belief system, in spite of evidence against that claim,
is truly disingenuous.

Should anyone
in your campaign, or those in your ward, stake or belief
system, choose to respond to the questions I have posed,
I would be delighted to enter a civil dialogue with them.